It Runs In The Family
by RonsLuver
Summary: Lizzie and Gordo go their seperate ways, only to be reunited by a common thread in their lives years later. UPDATED FINALLY!
1. Prologue

A/N: Well here it is, my long awaited first Lizzie-fic! But I can't take all the credit, I am writing this story with another well-known author here on fanfic.net. He goes by the name DaleJr8FanDMP. Over the past two months, I have got to know him really well, and all in all he's an incredible guy.....cute too ^.^  
  
We put a lot of effort into this story, and I gave up a lot of sleeping time (damn the time difference) to write this story. So here we go, we hope you all enjoy reading this as much as we have enjoyed writing it!  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything!!  
  
~It Runs In The Family~  
  
~Prologue~ "I've been wanting to say this for years now, but I know if I don't say anything now then I never will, so here goes....."  
  
Lizzie looked at her best friend of 18 years then looked down at their clasped hands. 'He's shaking, this has to be big' she thought.  
  
Gordo looked into her eyes 'this is it, I'm finally gonna do this' he took a deep breath "Lizzie I...."  
  
"Go on Gordo, you can tell me anything," Lizzie encouraged with a smile.  
  
"Lizzie I love you, I love everything about you. I love your smile, I love the way your golden locks hang perfectly around your beautiful face. I love the way you care about people, even if they don't care for you that much. I want to be the one who is allowed to hold your hand, shower you with hugs and kisses. I love you Lizzie, I always have, and if you let me, I'll spend the rest of my life still loving you."  
  
Tears escaped Lizzie's eyes, she didn't know what to say. Her best friend had just declared his love for her, what was she supposed to say?  
  
Gordo saw the tears fall from her face. He hoped for the life of him that they were tears of joy but deep down he was worried they might be tears of sadness. He raised his hand to her cheek attempting to wipe her tears. As his hand touched her soft skin, Lizzie abruptly stepped back, releasing her hands from his.  
  
Lizzie couldn't quite get her head around this, it was all happening so fast. Through tears she managed to speak "but.....but what about Parker?"  
  
"Parker is a nice girl, but I don't love her.....I love you." Gordo replied softly.  
  
"Stop saying that." Lizzie demanded.  
  
"But it's the truth! I love you Lizzie, I always have."  
  
"but you can't love me, we're friends, *best* friends, this shouldn't be happening. I love Ethan, Gordo. I'm happy, Ethan makes me happy!" Said Lizzie, immediately seeing the hurt visible in Gordo's face.  
  
"I'm sorry, Gordo."  
  
"Yeah, me too."  
  
Gordo turned and walked away with his head hanging low, trying to hold back the floodgates.  
  
Lizzie hurried to catch up to him, "Gordo, don't leave me, we're still friends."  
  
Gordo gently shook his head with a quiet sneer "just go back to Ethan, Lizzie!"  
  
Gordo continued to walk away from the love of his life leaving her stood there, watching his retreating back, wondering if she was ever going to see her good friend again. Not knowing what else to do, Lizzie followed Gordo's advice and went back to Ethan.  
  
~We hope you liked it! Thanks for reading and please review~  
  
~Loopylou1 & DaleJr8FanDMP~ 


	2. Chapter One

Hey guys, we're back with the first chapter. Many thanks to all our readers, we hope you stick with us throughout this fic and to any new readers…enjoy!!  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything.

~It Runs In The Family~  
~Chapter One~

*Hillridge High School: September, 2024*

Having survived her first day at Hillridge High the shy 14 year old girl couldn't wait to get back to the safety of her home. In her rush to get to her locker she failed to notice another person coming around the corner. Before she knew it, both her body, and her books landed on the ground with a thud. Upon regaining her senses she noticed a blonde boy across from her. He was a little taller than her with brown eyes. He was actually kind of cute, she thought. She didn't think she could be more embarrassed than she was at that moment.

"I'm sooo sorry." The girl quickly apologized.

"No. Don't be. It was my fault. I'm a klutz. It's genetic."

"Umm...I'm Chloe." The girl introduced herself. She was shocked by the politeness of the mystery boy.

"Jake. Here, let me help you." He reached out his hand to help her up.

Jake quickly picked up Chloe's books. When he didn't hand them to her immediately she reached for them.

"I wouldn't be a gentleman if I made you carry your own books, now would I?" Jake asked with a smile.

Chloe smiled slightly to acknowledge his gesture then led him to her locker. 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, he is soooo adorable.' When they reached her locker she quickly unlocked it and placed her books inside.

"So...Thanks." Chloe was nervous, although she couldn't exactly explain why.

"No problem." 

Chloe started to walk away but stopped when she heard Jake calling after her.

"Hey, umm...Chloe. Can I walk you home?" Jake asked hopefully.

"Uh...You want to walk me home? I don't mean to sound rude or anything but umm...Why?"

"I bumped into you, it's the least I could do."

"Oook." Chloe flashed her new acquaintance an unsure smile. 'Ahhhh, an unbelievably gorgeous guy wants to walk _me_ home…._me_, this has never happened before, what do I do?!? Stay calm Chloe, just stay calm! You can do this, just put one foot in front of the other and walk with him.'

The two young teenagers walked down the deserted hallway in awkward silence for several minutes, occasionally glancing at one another. Before he knew it Jake found himself checking Chloe out. Curly brown hair that went just below her shoulders and blue eyes. Her skin was light; she definitely didn't spend much time on the beach. At around 5 feet tall she was just short enough so Jake had to bend down to look her in the eye. As they walked away from the school Jake decided to try and break the ice.

"You're new around here, right?"

Chloe was startled by his voice. "Uh...Yeah."

"Where did you live before?"

"Right outside of New York. My dad was going to go to film school and become a director or something, but it didn't work out."

"So you moved here after that?"

"No. All that happened before I was born. We moved here because my dad lived here when he was a kid. What about you? Have you lived here long?"

"I was born here, actually."

"So you know this place pretty well then?"

"I guess you could say that."

"So what's it like?"

"It's ok I guess. The people are ok for the most part."

"And the school?"

"It's not so bad. Cheerleaders, jocks, geeks, typical crowd. There's even a few normal people like you and me."

Chloe felt her face get hot with embarrassment. "Me? Normal? Hardly. I'd probably fit in with the geeks."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, it's only your first day, besides I don't think you'd fit in with the geeks, you're too cute to be a geek."

'Did he say what I think he just said? He's so sweet, what should I say?' Before Chloe could respond she realized that they were in front of her house. She walked up the sidewalk and towards the front door. Much to her surprise Jake was still with her. She waved goodbye and started to open the door but stopped when Jake called her name.

"Chloe?"

"Hmm?"

Jake hesitated for a second before bending down and lightly kissing her on the cheek.  
"Bye, Chloe."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

We hope you liked it, please review.

Thanks

~Loopylou1 & DaleJr8FanDMP~


	3. Chapter Two

Hey its Loopylou here.  
  
I don't know where my partner in crime aka 'DaleJr8FanDMP'is, I haven't spoken to him in over a week now so I hope nothing has happened to him. I've been holding out for posting this chapter until I spoke to him but I just didn't want to keep all you guys waiting any longer.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Now we know this chapter is quite short but we promise to make it up to you guys in the next chapter. Thanks for reading our story and for leaving all the great reviews. I don't know about DaleJr8FanDMP but I have been totally shocked at how much response we've been getting, so again, thanks!  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything!!  
  
~Chapter Two~  
  
Chloe was never too thrilled about moving to Hillridge and starting a whole new life, but she knew how important it was to her Dad to move back to his home town.  
  
She stepped into her house, her cheeks slightly flushed and a huge smile was plastered across her face. 'Things are definitely starting to look up' she thought to herself.  
  
Hearing the door close, Gordo came into the hall. "Hey, there's my girl, how was your first day? I remember my first day, me, Miranda and Liz....uh..Larry were so excited, we had all our classes together and...." Gordo stopped his trip down memory lane to look at his daughter, she was standing with her hand to her cheek staring away into space. "Chloe, did you hear anything I just said?"  
  
Turning quickly to her Dad, still gently holding her cheek, "uh...yeah, you said you had all your classes together."  
  
Gordo sceptically looked at his daughter.  
  
"What's the matter? Toothache?"  
  
"Um...no!" She answered quickly bringing her hand back down to her side.  
  
"Then why were you holding your face?" Gordo asked with uncertainty.  
  
Thinking quickly she answered "oh....uh no reason, lets go into the kitchen and I'll tell you all about my day."  
  
Chloe hurried into the kitchen before her dad had chance to say anything.  
  
Gordo walked into the kitchen to find his daughter sat at the island with her books out in front of her, still somewhat baffled by her earlier comments, he walked over to the fridge and poured himself and Chloe a drink of orange juice. He sat the glass in front of her.  
  
"Thanks dad."  
  
Gordo smiled, "so, first day at high school, how was it?"  
  
"Oh y'know, the usual." Chloe vaguely replied.  
  
"So that's all I get huh? Come on Clo, I want details."  
  
"There's nothing to tell, I got there, they gave me my timetable and locker assignment, I got lost trying to find my first class, ate lunch, went to some more classes, bumped into.....uh...a...um door, yeah a door, and then I came home. There you go, all the details."  
  
Gordo looked carefully at his daughter, he could always tell when she was hiding something and now was so exception. "Well, something must have happened to put that smile on your face when you first walked in here?"  
  
"Nope, nothing happened," Chloe answered all too quickly.  
  
"Make any new friends?" Gordo asked.  
  
"No," she answered. 'Well maybe one,' she thought to herself, smiling on the inside.  
  
Gordo came around the island and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, "well, it's only the first day, you'll make friends before you know it," Gordo finished, placing a kiss on the top of his daughter's head before turning to walk back out the room.  
  
Before exiting, Gordo jokingly spoke out, "maybe you'll even meet a boy."  
  
"Hehehe.....maybe."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Enjoy? Yes?...No?....Maybe?? Please review and let us know!  
  
Hopefully I'll have DaleJr8FanDMP back before posting the next chapter!  
  
Thanks for reading  
  
~Loopylou1 & DaleJr8FanDMP~ 


	4. Chapter Three

Hi everybody!! This is Loopylou again, sadly still no DaleJr8FanDMP :-(  
  
~Where are you DaleJr8?...I miss ya xx!!~  
  
I have a feeling something has happened and I'm starting to get a little worried about him, its been a month now since I last heard from him and the last time we went this long without talking was because the guy landed himself in the hospital with a dislocated jaw. So if we all send him a kind word, maybe he'll come back to us sooner.  
  
On other news for those who might be interested, Hilary Duff just entered the UK charts with her single 'Come Clean' at number 18 (which is a far cry from the number 9 she reached with 'So Yesterday'). Also, over here in the UK we have a segment on a popular tv show called 'On The Spot' where viewers get to ask that weeks celebrity lots of embarrassing questions, and last week Hilary was put 'on the spot', her final question was 'who do you fancy the most between Gordo and Ethan and she picked Gordo!!! Awww...but of course we all knew he was the best looking anyway!  
  
Anyway, enough rambling...on with the story! I know the last chapter was rather short but I did promise we would make up for it with this one, I hope we've delivered!!  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything.  
  
~Chapter Three~  
  
Standing alone, holding onto her lunch tray tightly, Chloe searched the lunchroom for a place to sit. As she looked around she could see all the cheerleaders huddled together with their noses buried deep in the latest fashion magazine, the average stereotypical jocks were sat near the cheerleaders, all were occupied in a serious competition to see who could belch the most letters from the alphabet. In all honesty, she expected Jake to be sitting there too, what with his charming good looks and his tall physique, but there was no sign of him.  
  
Chloe quickly made her way over to an empty table and sat herself down. She could hear people around her whispering about the 'new girl'. The cheerleaders had closed their magazine and were now looking her way, laughing amongst themselves. Chloe hung her head low concentrating on the odd looking food in front of her, trying to avoid eye contact with all the cheerleaders.  
  
All of a sudden the laughter and whispering stopped, she raised her head to see everyone just staring with their jaws dropped low. She couldn't for the life of her figure out what was happening until she heard someone speak from behind her.  
  
"Can I sit here?"  
  
Chloe turned around to see Jake standing their holding a brown paper bag and a soda.  
  
Chloe's face went from a frown to a smile the second she laid her eyes on Jake.  
  
"Sure," she replied softly, deciding to play it cool.  
  
Jake took a seat opposite her as noise filled the room again. Chloe started poking around at her food, trying to discover what exactly she was going to eat.  
  
"I wouldn't eat that if I were you," said Jake causing her to look back up at him.  
  
"Here, you can share my sandwich with me," Jake said, holding out half of his homemade sandwich.  
  
"Are you sure?" Chloe asked.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead." Chloe reached out and took the sandwich, her hand brushed against his, she definitely felt sparks, ' I wonder if he did too?" she thought.  
  
"Thanks Jake," she said offering him a smile.  
  
"Think nothing of it," Jake assured throwing Chloe his best smile, in turn causing Chloe to blush.  
  
The conversation died down as both teens ate their sandwiches. 'Aww he's so nice and.....oh no' Chloe's eyes were drawn away from the boy in front of her to the cheerleader that was heading their way.  
  
She stopped at their table. "Hey Jake," she said, completely ignoring Chloe.  
  
"Hey Ashlie," he replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice.  
  
"You were great at try outs the other day," Ashlie complimented.  
  
"Thanks," he replied.  
  
Ashlie smiled and let out a flirtatious giggle before asking, "now Jake, wouldn't you much rather come and sit with me and the girls instead of this.....loser?"  
  
Jake looked at Chloe, he could tell she was hurt by Ashlie's comment, who wouldn't be?  
  
"Thanks for the offer Ashlie but...." He looked to Chloe before continuing," I'm happy sat right here with my new friend, Chloe."  
  
"Ugghh, whatever!" Ashlie said before storming off.  
  
"Thanks, but you can go sit with your friends if you want to, I don't mind," Chloe said, desperately hoping he wouldn't leave her.  
  
"Well I do mind, I wouldn't go off and leave you alone. Besides, those people aren't my friends. True, I get along with the guys on the field and the cheerleaders because they sort of come with the deal, but off the field, we have nothing in common."  
  
"So.....you play football?" Chloe asked, attempting to keep the conversation going.  
  
"Yeah, and I'm pretty good if I do say so myself," replied Jake with a bright smile. "What about you, play any sports?"  
  
"I like gymnastics, my dad sort of got me into it a few years ago."  
  
"My mom used to do gymnastics," Jake replied stating a fact.  
  
"Really? Was she any good?" Chloe asked showing interest.  
  
Jake nodded his head, "yeah, she won a medal or something."  
  
The conversation drew to silence, only quick glances and smiles were shared between the two teens as they both ate their lunch.  
  
After they ate, they both stood, gathered their books and threw the remainders of their lunch in the trash. The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch, "so Chloe, what class you got now?" Jake asked.  
  
"Biology....You?"  
  
"Same here, come on, I'll walk with you."  
  
As they were heading to their lesson, Jake chanced a look at Chloe, she seemed to be struggling with all her books. "Would you like me to carry your books for you again?" Jake offered.  
  
'Oh my God, he's so kind,' Chloe thought. Thankful for his suggestion she replied, "if you're sure?"  
  
Jake just smiled, "give them here," he said as he held out his hands.  
  
Chloe returned the smile, while handing her books over. "Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome. Now, do you have a lab partner yet for Biology?" Jake asked, hopeful that she hadn't.  
  
"You've got to be kidding, you're the only person who is talking to me so far. I just figured the teacher would pair me with whoever was left," explained Chloe.  
  
"In that case, would you like to be my partner?"  
  
She stopped and looked up at Jake, a smile forming on her face "I'd like that."  
  
Jake returned the smile "well good, but we best keep on walking or we're gonna be late, from what I hear, the teacher can be pretty mean."  
  
Lucky for them, they appeared to have arrived before the teacher, so they found seats together near the back and got themselves ready to start.  
  
Jake handed Chloe her books, he couldn't help but notice the title of one of them, "Advanced Maths hey? You must me pretty good," Jake asked.  
  
"I'm not bad."  
  
"Do you think you could help me out with my maths sometime?" Asked Jake.  
  
"Yeah sure, how about after school?" Suggested Chloe. "We could go back to my house."  
  
"That would be great, thanks. I'll walk you home again if you'd like?"  
  
At that point, the teacher had just walked into the classroom. "Hello students, I am your Biology teacher for the next year, my name is Mr Johnson. Can you all open your text books to the first page, Introduction to Bio...."  
  
As the teacher rambled on Chloe turned to Jake with a smile and whispered, "I'd like."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Well what did you think? Please review and tell us.  
  
I just want to take a minute to say thanks so much for the reviews, I'm totally blown away with the response we've been getting on this story...I mean 39 reviews for just 3 chapters seems like a lot to me so I just want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review mine and DaleJr8's story.  
  
I'll update as soon as possible but I really need DaleJr8 back for the next few chapters, so everyone keep your fingers crossed that he is ok and he'll come back soon!  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Thanks for reading!  
  
Loopylou1 & DaleJr8FanDMP 


	5. Chapter Four

Right ok, I know it's been a long time since I updated, but I was waiting for DaleJr8 to come back, but sadly I still haven't heard from him. But today I received an email from Chantelle aka lilwhitegurl89 that was filled with so many compliments that it gave me a boost to get this chapter out. So today, I locked myself in my room, with my laptop and 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie' playing on my tv hoping it would give me some inspiration, and it must have worked, because I got this chapter finished!!  
  
DaleJr8 did actually write some of this chapter a while ago, so I've sort of just filled in the gaps, I hope its ok, enjoy!!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!!  
  
Chapter Four  
  
The two teens arrived at Chloe's house shortly after school had finished. Chloe fumbled in her pocket, trying to retrieve her key. She was nervous inside, this was the first time she was fetching a boy home. True they were only studying but what would happen? Even worse, what would her dad say?  
  
"Something wrong?" Jake asked, as he watched the girl feel around in her pockets.  
  
"I can't find my.....ah wait got it!" Chloe said as she pulled her key out from her jean pocket. She let out a nervous laugh as she put the key into the lock.  
  
The door swung open and the two walked in.  
  
Chloe shouted out "Dad, I'm home!"  
  
"Hey Clo" Gordo yelled back using her nickname, "I'm in the kitchen."  
  
"Come on," Chloe said to Jake, signalling him to follow her.  
  
As the two came into the kitchen, they saw Gordo standing behind the counter slicing some vegetables.  
  
"Hey dad, this is Jake. Jake this is my dad," Chloe said introducing the two. 'Please don't embarrass me, please, please, please.'  
  
Gordo looked up when he heard his daughter speak. As he raised his head, he came face to face with a boy who stood as tall as him, 'oh no, its starting. My baby girl's fetched a boy home'. Gordo put on a brave smile, wiped his hands and shook the young boy's hand, "hello there Jake."  
  
Jake took hold of the mans hand and gave it a good shake, "Nice to meet you Sir."  
  
"Sir? Come on Jake, I'm not that old am I? My name is David." Replied Gordo.  
  
"Well its nice to meet you, David."  
  
"So Dad, Jake and I are gonna study for a while, is that ok?"  
  
"Yeah sure, would your new friend like to stay for dinner? I'm making my famous lasagne."  
  
Chloe looked up at Jake for an answer. Jake looked at David, then looked down at Chloe for a moment before saying, "I'd like that."  
  
"Ok then, why don't you give your parents a quick call, see if it's ok first?" Gordo suggested.  
  
"The phone's right over there in the corner," Chloe instructed pointing over into the far corner of the kitchen.  
  
When Jake was out of ear shot, Chloe turned to her dad, "dad, promise me something? Try not to embarrass me tonight, please?"  
  
"Parents don't embarrass their children on purpose, Chloe. It's too easy to do it by accident."  
  
Jake picked up the phone and quickly dialed his home number. It seemed odd, calling his own house. After three rings his mom answered. "Hello?"  
  
"It's me, mom."  
  
"Jake? Where are you? You're late getting home. Is something wrong?" She was nearly panicking now.  
  
"Relax, mom. I'm studying with a friend from school. I'm calling because they've invited me to stay for dinner. Is that okay?"  
  
"Sure. I guess. But let me talk to an adult to confirm."  
  
"Mom, would I lie?"  
  
"Jake, do I need to remind you about the R rated movie during study hall? You're lucky you didn't get banned from the theater."  
  
"Mom! It was just a horror movie, and it was a year ago. Sheesh!"  
  
"Parents never forget, Jake. Anyway, put an adult on." Jake walked the phone over to Gordo and handed it to him. "My mom wants to make sure it's ok for me to stay."  
  
Gordo took the phone from the young mans hand and raised it to his ear, "Hello?"  
  
"Hi, are you sure its ok if he stays?"  
  
'Gosh that voice, it sounds familiar, where have I heard it before?' Gordo thought to himself before he heard the voice on the other end of the line speak out again.  
  
"Hello, is anyone there?"  
  
"Oh yeah, sorry," Gordo apologized before letting out a nervous chuckle.  
  
"So its ok if he stays?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," confirmed Gordo.  
  
"Ok then, tell him I'll see him when he gets home, goodbye."  
  
"Bye." Gordo pressed the off button on the cordless and placed it down on the counter. He looked up to the two teens, "she said its ok, why don't you two go start studying and I'll give you a shout when dinner's done, ok?"  
  
"Ok, come on Jake, we'll go upstairs," said Chloe turning and heading out of the kitchen.  
  
Carrying both his and Chloe's book bag, Jake followed Chloe to the foot of the staircase.  
  
As they started climbing the stairs to Chloe's bedroom, they heard a loud shout which sounded somewhat like a worried father's cry coming from the kitchen, "keep that bedroom door open Chloe!!"

* * *

"Dinner's ready!" Gordo shouted up the stairs to his daughter and her guest.  
  
"Coming Dad!"  
  
Chloe and Jake made their way downstairs and walked into the dining room and sat opposite each other at the table. Gordo was sat between the two at the head of the table.  
  
"All this looks delicious David," offered Jake.  
  
"Yeah dad, you out did yourself," Chloe complemented.  
  
"Well, this is a special occasion, my little girl has fetched a boy home for the first time and..."  
  
"Dad!!!" Chloe interrupted, she chanced a glance at Jake, he had a smile on his face that was directed at her, 'oh god he's never gonna want to see me again'.  
  
"What?!?!" Gordo asked somewhat amused by his daughter's reaction. "I'm a parent, its part of my job description to embarrass my kid! Come on, everyone eat up before its gets cold."  
  
Chloe kept her head down low as the rest of dinner went by quietly.  
  
"Well that was great David, I really enjoyed it," Jake looked at his watch, "but I think it's about time I headed home."  
  
"I'll walk you out," Chloe said as she stood up from the table.  
  
"It was good to meet you Jake, I hope we see you around here again soon." Gordo said shaking the young mans hand.  
  
"Good to meet you too, I'll be seeing you again." Jake replied as he picked up his bag and stepped out of the frond door, Chloe walked out behind him and shut the door before her Dad could follow.  
  
Chloe stood there fiddling with her hands, "I sorry about my Dad, he's always embarrassing me like that."  
  
Jake smiled, "my Mom is just the same, though, I've never brought a girl home yet, so I guess I've got some more to come."  
  
Chloe laughed.  
  
"I better go before it gets any darker, thanks for helping me with my maths Chloe." He leant forward and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek, just like the day before. He stepped back so he could see her face, "goodnight Chloe."

* * *

Ok, so there it was, did you like it? Yes? No? Maybe? Please review and let me know.  
  
Just the other week, I enlisted the help of 'JersyPrincess' for this story. Basically, I don't expect her to write anything, but I just like having someone there to bounce ideas off of, so hopefully I'll have the next chapter up sooner, in fact, I've already made a start on it   
  
Thanks to everyone who read my other story 'Lizzie's 21st', and if you haven't already read it, then please check it out.  
  
Thanks for reading, please review!  
  
Loopylou 


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